In the context of this patent, “high temperature range” is intended to mean a temperature range in which special materials which withstand the high temperatures have to be used for the plug-type connector and the cable. As a rule, these are temperatures of more than 120° C. The upper temperature limit of plug-type connectors and cables which are used in the high temperature range is as a rule 250° C. It is clear that, depending on materials used for the plug-type connector and the cable, other temperature limits applicable to the special materials define the high temperature range.
It is known that plug-type connectors can be used for room temperature range. By injecting a housing around the contact carrier and the cable, a completely assembled plug-type connector having a certain cable of certain length is produced. On encapsulating the contact element and the cable with a material which can be used at room temperature, a fluid-tight connection between the injection material forming the housing and the outer sheath of the cable or the contact carrier is produced. This is desirable in most applications because, for example, water entering the plug-type connector might cause a fault in the connection.
DE 100 58 265 C1 and DE 200 04 565 U1 disclose plug-type connectors for underground use. The known plug-type connectors have a housing which mechanically holds and seals the contact carrier by means of sealing elements. The housing is sealed from the cable with a shaped part which consists of a permanently elastic casting or injection moulding material made of plastic. For better sealing, a gasket surrounding the cable sheath is enclosed in a section of the shaped part which extends outside the plug sleeve. These known plug-type connectors have the disadvantage that the shaped part is cast or injection moulded only around the gasket. The gasket can therefore acquire an additional sealing effect only if a weld joint is produced between the shaped part and the gasket. When materials which can withstand higher temperatures are used, the desired welding between the shaped part and the gasket is not possible. These known plug-type connectors are therefore not suitable for high-temperature use.
In the high temperature range, it is necessary to use other materials for the encapsulating material, the contact carrier and the outer sheath of the cable, which can withstand the higher temperatures. These materials comprise heat-resistant plastics. In the case of these materials, there is a problem that they are not welded to one another during the encapsulation process, so that the materials do not form a joint with one another or do not adhere to one another, and a fluid-tight joint therefore does not form.